SLAMMER – Red Raider Ciara Bruning (13) slams the ball back across the net at her Walpole foes during MIAA tournament play Nov. 4.

Raiders rout Rebels in MIAA tourney

Experience, skill and will. Those are the qualities Barnstable girls volleyball head coach Tom Turco feels brought his team through another undefeated regular season and to a 3-0 MIAA Div. 1 South quarterfinal victory against Walpole this week.

Competing on their home court at Barnstable High School, the No. 1 Red Raiders waged a fierce battle against the No. 8 Rebels to game scores of 25-13, 25-17, and 25-16.

Leading the way were the team’s seniors. Ciara Bruning had 15 kills, Hannah Andres 13 and Colleen Kenney nine in the win, while Andres and Stephanie Martin each posted 12 digs, and Holly Wilson eight.

Following in the footsteps of their fearless leaders were juniors Madison Sollows with six kills, Nicole Desrosier with five digs, and Olivia Brodt with six digs and an impressive 43 assists.

Leading 8-6 Barnstable went on a scoring run in the first game en route to the 25-13 final score. The Rebels held a few fleeting leads in Game 2 and a 12-8 lead in the final game, but the stalwart Raiders wouldn’t be stopped, peeling off 11 points to Walpole’s one to claim the win.

“We have gotten this far by virtue of experience, skill and will,” Turco said in an email interview. “With seven seniors we had the experience of playing in big matches. This, along with the skill development in all phases of the game has been a process and they are continuing to improve. They had a really tough non-league schedule and embraced the challenge.”

Turco said what stands out most for him regarding his 2013 team is their chemistry. He added that the seniors have risen well to their roles as leaders.

“The seniors have been a tremendous source of positive energy,” Turco said. “They continually want to improve and they help each other out prior to and during practice. They are bearers of the team goals and have proven to be excellent role models on and off the court.”

At press time Barnstable was slated to play No. 4 seed Bishop Feehan at home for a chance to compete in the South Sectional Championship slated for 4 p.m. Nov. 9 at Pembroke.